I was not fortunate enough to have had a personal relationship with Dr. Oates through the years. I was fortunate enough to be a student in his introductory course on pastoral care at Southern Seminary and to have been a member at St. Matthews Baptist Church in the mid 1980's where I saw him on a regular basis. Even though there were more than a hundred students in his pastoral care class and hundreds more than that in worship, Dr. Oates always knew my name. Perhaps it was a gift he had to recall names or perhaps he worked diligently to remember names, knowing the power and the impact that recalling a name can have on a young, impressionable seminary student, or any person for that matter. Whenever he called my name I knew what Zacchaeus must have felt when Jesus looked up in the tree and told him to come down and have supper with him. The only difference was that Dr. Oates was not calling me down. Instead, his call to me was one that lifted me up.

Perhaps that is the real gift he exercised with me, lifting me up, causing me to believe I was worth noticing, causing me to believe I had something to offer, causing me to strive to give the same kind of attention to others that he gave to me, causing me to want to study and learn. To me, that's what pastoral care is all about, lifting others up, helping them connect with the power of our God that lifted Jesus up from the grave. Dr. Oates helped me to identify a calling and to develop a heart for a pastoral ministry. I chose pastoral care as my vocational core at Southern.

Though I don't recall ever having had a conversation with him since I graduated in 1987, I have continued to hear his gentle voice calling me with love and encouragement. Through his books he has continued to challenge me to give my best through compassionate leadership, the pursuit of knowledge in all areas of study. He has taught me to know myself, to learn my limits, to know my temptations, and to find help for problems that are beyond my abilities to solve. I know that I am a better pastor because of Dr. Wayne Oates.

Today as I greet those who come to my church and tomorrow as I see people in the community where I live, I will remember the power that calling people by name has, especially for those who need lifting up. I do not strike in others the awe that Dr. Oates struck in me. Even so, someone today needs to be noticed. Today, I need to look beyond myself and notice others and call them by name. There's something transcendent that takes place in the process. I felt it when Dr. Oates spoke to me. Because God is present in our midst, I hope that others can feel something special when they hear me call them by name. Thank you Dr. Oates for believing in me, by affirming the call God placed on my life as a child, and for always remembering my name.